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Absolutely gorgeous pair of dogs! I saw this pic and showed my son, and told him "That's going to be us in a couple years" since I'm getting a GSD when I can, and he's getting a Dobe. The I looked up and saw your user name, and cracked right up, as one of the nicknames he uses regularly is Neko.

=)

I know a few people at the club who got a dobe and gsd and train together at the club as a family, both dogs grew up super.

I have read a lot of stories on this board about people not advising or even going to a dog park for a number of reasons. Just wanted to share my experience yesterday. I took Moe. to a local park with the hopes of introducing him to other dogs/pups. Moe. is 15 months old. When arriving, He was barking playfully at the other dogs but I wanted to take him to the section "under 20lb" dogs because no one was in there. We weren't in there 2 minutes when a woman came over to me and said what a beautiful GSD, can I bring my Shepherd over to that side? Her's was about a month older and running around with the bigger dogs. I said, sure, why not. Moe. and her dog began playing together for a minute, then her's began chasing Moe. Every time she caught him, she would knock him down. Playfully, not aggressively. this went on for about ten minutes until one time her dog knocked Moe. down and they began barking/snarling at each other. I quickly separated Moe. and thought, OK, time to leave. The woman said to me, Oh, it's OK, they will be fine. I let Moe. go after making him calm down and he stayed at my feet until her dog came running and plowing him over again. This time it was a full on puppy fight. I broke it up immediately, put on Moe's. leash and began to leave. She said to me like nothing had happened, "Nice meeting you, see you next time". I thought to myself, No you won't. Maybe I was over reacting but I wanted him to socialize, Not learn how to fight or defend himself.

We have no yard, no parks or hiking places here in St Pete, Florida so dog park is very convenient. We are very careful and never let dogs 2 on 1 and Zeus now knows "easy" or "Take a break". He did get attacked once and did not fight back so we pulled the other dog off and owner left. No harm was done.

But when we schedule a play date with Z's buddy Swagger, we clear the park!!! haha

These two grew up together and trained together.

Absolutely gorgeous pair of dogs! I saw this pic and showed my son, and told him "That's going to be us in a couple years" since I'm getting a GSD when I can, and he's getting a Dobe. The I looked up and saw your user name, and cracked right up, as one of the nicknames he uses regularly is Neko.

As far as dog parks, like others have said. It's not so much the dogs themselves, but their owners. Some owners are just mindless idiots, as long as it's not their dog getting tore up.

I have been to dog parks. It about wrecked my dogs confidence being pushed around by bigger dogs. Lucky, I took the advice from people here and just stayed out. Dogs don't need other dogs. They do need us their owners though. Thats the bond that matters. I have to admit, with in reason, dog parks would be a good training tool as long as you stay outside the area.

01-16-2014 05:09 PM

_Zero_

Dog parks are all about managing YOUR OWN dog. If you go and you feel like the other dogs there aren't right to play with your dog, the way your dog plays, then don't stick around. Too many people treat dog parks like socialization centers and let their dogs run amok and figure they'll sort out their own issues.

My boy does get rough and "herdy" when a chase game starts up. I work very hard to ensure I match him up with an appropriate playmate and he doesn't get over-stimulated when another dog gets the zoomies. Similarly, I'm always on the lookout for other dogs displaying behavior that I know my guy will react to.

Honestly I think dog parks can be very valuable tools for exercise, socialization, and stimulation, so long as you find the right park and you're CONSTANTLY managing what your dog is doing. We have a park in my neighborhood with a group of "regulars" that meet up almost every evening. Everyone knows everyone else's dogs and their play styles. We're very accepting of newcomers so long as they show they'll properly look after their dog and the way it's behaving. If the owner does anything to suggest otherwise, they're typically politely asked to leave and not return.

Personally I love my dog park and I'll continue to take my dog there.

01-16-2014 11:13 AM

Redrider469

We go a couple times a week. Have never had an issue. GSD's can play rough and just because you can see teeth does not mean it's a fight. You know you dog and if it made you feel uncomfortable, good to just remove your dog from the situation.

01-16-2014 09:02 AM

llombardo

I'm happy I experienced the dog park before both of my GSD's came along. Based on those observations alone I know that both of mine would get into a fight, not because they are aggressive, but because how they play. IMO its just like kids, they play, someone doesn't like the way the other is playing and it escalates really fast.

01-16-2014 08:53 AM

Msmaria

Of course the other woman is fine with it, her dog is not the one being bullied. Something similar has bappened to me. However dont feel badto let her know her dogs behavior can be considered rude. I told the other woman I didnt want my dog to learn how to be a bully and took him to the other side . I dont go as much as we used to, because we are so busy lately and we are working on being around other dogs without trying to run up to them to play.

01-16-2014 06:01 AM

Harry and Lola

My 2 GSDs can play like this until one goes too far, and then they have quite loud german words together! They usually sort out the issue themselves, rarely do I have to separate them, but GSDs are very rough, noisy and loud players. If you are not used to it, it can be a bit of a shock especially with dogs and owners that are strangers to you and your dog.

My opinion - not keen on dog parks, they can be good for young puppies if there are other young puppies around, but as they get older I think dog parks can be a breeding ground for trouble when you lump dogs that are essentially strangers to each other in a caged area and expect them all to like each other and get on.

This topic is so relevant to both of my dogs.. I have had both good and bad experiences but as of now my dogs won't be playing there any more...
When our current female Tascha was 3-4 months old we started socializing her with other dogs at the local park in San Jose. On the positive side she grew up well socialized and not a threat or problem to most every dog. The park was a little community, regular groups at different times many really nice people. Most of the owners were dog crazy like my wife and I are and we enjoyed socializing. There was the occasional goof ball like the two clown who argued who's dog would win in a fight but this was the exception to the rule. It was a great place for my hyperactive WL female to work off some of her energy. The only real bad incident we ever had was when a man and his parents brought in his two bully male boxers and the constantly followed Tascha around and tried to fight with her. I asked the fellow nicely to control his dogs and you would have thought I threatened to shoot his parents... He started screaming and swearing at me and threatening to beat me up. I asked his parents to calm both he and his out of control dogs down and they just said my dog started it. Things escalated so seriously that I pulled my cell phone out and asked him whether he wanted to spend the nite in jail. I told him that if he didn't back off I was going to call 911 and have him arrested for assault if he touched me.. This kept on going for awhile and as I finally started to dial he started crying and walked away to another corner of the park. I did actually call the police and they responded, I left and never returned.
We moved to a small town in the central valley of California called Oakdale. They built a park that we took Tascha to occasionally and many of the same positive elements were there as well. The only negative thing that ever happened was when Tascha was playing with another smaller mix GSD and Tascha were playing. The dog got really possessive over a ball and attacked Tascha when she got to it before the other dog did. When a fight ensued, Tascha quickly put the smaller dog in a submission hold and the struggle ended peacefully. However.. Out of the corner of my eye I see the owner of the smaller dog come flying over the two dogs, pulling Tascha off his and putting her in a submission hold. A few moments later he released her and came back to where we all were standing. After thinking about it he said, "That was really dumb" to which I said he was right. We left the park and never returned..
I am really grateful because Tascha and her son are now both protection trained and had it happened recently the results would have been much different. I don't take either dog anywhere where they can't be controlled or are at risk from the individual that would do something stupid. Both have been affection trained and (aside from their rambunctious spirit) are safe to be around anyone. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood and when we go out the dogs are really happy to be around them. They both go everywhere with us and we rarely have any worries.

Yep pretty much, I never had an issue myself...I never go to dog parks. Problem solved!

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